1997 Contour electrical issue

[MikeJG]

Hi.

Driving the other day, my 1997 Contour (164K miles) had a weird sound come of the radio and then the radio went silent (although the radio panel remained lighted with the station info). Right after that, my airbag light began flashing. The radio began playing again and then the event occurred again a few seconds later. The airbag light flashed a bit and then the radio began playing again normally.

I checked the airbag code and it was 1-2 (which I guess is low battery voltage).

On the way home that night, I noticed my dashboard lights were dimmer than normal so I was pretty sure the alternator wasn't charging the battery. I didn't quite make it home and ended up replacing the battery (it was old, anyway) and was able to get the car home.

Checked the voltage while the engine is running at it's at about 12.25V so I'm thinking alternator, given the age/mileage on the car. Of course, after swapping it out for a new (not rebuilt) alternator, the problem remains. Not too upset about the alternator given that it was probably due for replacement.

I've seen posts about fuse 5 but my Contour doesn't have foglights or a fuse 5. You'd think that in such a case another fuse would be used but I've not found any such reference so I'll probably check out all the fuses to see if any are blown.

I've also read about problems with the megafuse and have ordered one of those in case that's the issue but from the schematics, it appears that if the megafuse is bad, the dashboard lights wouldn't work and mine do light up. Is it possible this is the problem? I've not ohmed out the megafuse yet but will do so this weekend when I get a chance to work on it.

The battery no-charge light has never lit during all of this (nice...really useful).

I'm assuming that if the fuses all check out okay, the wiring harness is probably the culprit.

Thought I'd post and see if anyone else has seen anything like this or has any other possible reasons for this problem?

Thanks.

 

[Tony2005]

...The battery no-charge light has never lit during all of this (nice...really useful).
....

Change Fuse 5.

If equipped with foglights, check if foglights are blown.

Is the battery light on for a few seconds when you start the car? If not, then the bulb could be blown.

When the megafuse is blown, the battery light should be continuously on.

Check wiring under the Power Distribution Box next to the battery and the wiring under the Passenger Comparment Fuse box left of the driver steering column.

Do the alternator test.
http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=56

 

[MikeJG]

Resolved -- 1997 Ford Contour electrical issue

Resolved -- 1997 Ford Contour electrical issue

I checked the battery light when the key is put in the accessory position and it wasn't lighting. Neither was it lighting when the car was first started.

The megafuse measured about 780K ohms while in the car, about 1.9M ohms out of the car so I replaced it with the one I'd bought.

When I put the key into the accessory position, the battery light now lights and goes out when the car is running. The battery shows about 14.25-14.40 volts while the car is running and everything seems to be working okay.

Thanks to all who have posted in this forum for years....I wouldn't even have known what the heck a megafuse was or where to look for it was without this place.

BTW, if anyone needs that part, a good place to get it is Midway Auto Supply. The part (Littelfuse, their part number LIT-MEG175BP) was 7.99 and while they offer same day order filling and expediated shipping for extra charges, I ordered the part on Monday evening and received it Thursday without paying extra fees. The link to the product page is: http://www.midwayautosupply.com/p-1...ve-bolt-down-fuse-175-amp-white-meg175bp.aspx

Again, thanks.

 

[Tony2005]

And thank you for posting to close out the issue.